1. Field of Invention
The present invention generally relates to the treatment of nasal hemorrhages and more particularly to a nasal pack applicator which provides for the insertion of a preformed nasal pack into a nasal cavity.
2. Background of the Invention
Generally nasal hemorrhaging from surgery is treated by packing the nasal cavity with an absorbent material. A number of different types of absorbent materials have been used such as gauze, sponge and various cellulosic fibers. Nasal packs formed of a dry polyvinyl acetal sponge material, which expand when hydrated, have been marketed by Merocel Inc. for more than 10 years and are well known commercially in the medical community.
There are a wide number of methods and apparatus used for inserting a nasal pack or tampon into a nasal or other cavity.
U. S. Pat. No. 4,030,504 utilizes an expandable absorbent material nasal pack contoured to conform to the nasal cavity. This pack is inserted by hand into the nasal cavity of the patient.
While some surgeons typically trim the expandable absorbent material to the appropriate size and manually insert the device into a patient's nasal as has been previously noted, a number of insertion devices have been on the market which utilize a plunger-type device to insert an absorbent pack into a patient.
One such patent is U.S. Pat. No. 3,068,867 which shows the use of a cellulosic rectangular shaped tampon which is compressed to one form or cross section when dry and then subjected to fluids, at which time it expands to a second size. The tampon is placed in an applicator or barrel with the end of the plunger contacting the end of the tampon which is the same cross section throughout its length as that of the barrel. The tampon used in the device has a string attached to its distal end which can extend back through the interior of the plunger if the plunger is hollow or back past the exterior of the plunger if the plunger is solid.
A substantially identical device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,559 which shows a nasal pack syringe having a barrel and a plunger made from plastic with the end of the plunger engaging the nasal pack being formed with a pair of prongs which extend laterally outward from the barrel shaft so that they are slightly wider than the shaft. The purpose of the prongs is to generate sufficient friction to prevent the plunger from falling out of the barrel but not so much friction that the sliding action of the nasal pack in the barrel is inhibited.
Other related art in the nature of tampon inserting device is shown by U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,026. This patent is directed toward a device having a barrel and a plunger for transporting a tampon pack mounted in the barrel. The tampon has a withdrawal string which exits the rear of the barrel adjacent the outer wall of the plunger. Another tampon inserter having a barrel and a pusher which drives the tampon into a cavity is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,696. See, also U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,971,378 which shows a fan shaped tampon housed in a barrel which is pushed into the cavity by a plunger member and 636,637 which discloses a gauze carrier having a barrel and plunger used to pack nasal cavities.